


Deals

by Twyd



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Blackmail, Dubcon Cuddling, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Pre-Canon, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 19:39:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11168730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twyd/pseuds/Twyd
Summary: When he gets desperate, L makes a deal with B to gain information from his eyes.





	Deals

Beyond’s living in a basic, non-descript apartment when L tracks him down, complete with successful cosmetic surgery and a false name. He has achieved a lot since absconding, although L can still just make out the scars. B smiles at him like he is an old, old friend.

“L.”

His eyes and teeth shine with delight. He opens the door wider.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

The apartment is one of someone who has moved in.  L suspects it could just Beyond’s meticulous cleaning habits.

“Tea?” the other man offers.

“No, thank you.”

Beyond hops onto the armchair opposite where he’s sat L and looks him over. He is still smiling.

“I was wondering when you’d find me. I never thought you’d come alone, though. Aren’t I under arrest?”

“You might be.”

B waits for him to go on. His smile is calculating, but he is calm, playing cooperative. 

“Can I ask you something?”

The smile wavers a touch.

“About my eyes?”

“Yes.”

After some hesitation, he nods.

“Can you see people’s names and numbers from just photographs, if you’ve never seen them before?”

“Yes. So long as their face isn’t obscured.”

“And have you ever seen anyone’s numbers change?”

“No.”

“Ever tried to save someone?”

“Yes,” he says. “It doesn’t work.”

L nods.

“This might sound a little strange, but humour me. Have you ever seen anything strange, out of this world? Outside of the numbers, I mean. Something no-one would ever believe if you told them?”

B looks blank.

“Like what?”

“I don’t want to prompt you. Just think about it. Something – unusual, that no-one could see other than you. Maybe associated with a particular human?”

He thinks for a moment and shakes his head. “Nothing I can think of.”

L believes him.

“OK. If I give you some photographs of people, would you be able to tell me when they will die?”

“No,” he says at once.

L looks at him.

“Yes, I’d be able to, but I’d never tell anyone, not for anything.”

“Have you ever?”

He looks for a moment like he won’t answer. “My Mother,” he says eventually. “Didn’t help.”

L nods.

“OK.” L thinks for a moment, steels himself. “If you’d consider helping me just this once, we may be able to consider an alternative to your arrest.”

Beyond’s smile returns, sceptical.

“Alternative?”

“Supervised living. Surveillance, restricted movements. Something like that. Something better than prisons and hospitals.”

B snorts.

“Is that a no? I don’t have a lot of time.”

Beyond puts his feet up on the coffee table.

“What’s in it for me?”

L’s eyes turn hard.

“Not going back to prison.”

“Hmm,” Beyond says, unimpressed. “But what guarantee do I have of that after I’ve finished helping you?”

“I don’t lie,” L says. “I wouldn’t do something like that. But I can have an official contract written up for you if you like.” He sits back and shrugs. “It’s up to you. Help me and take a chance of not going back to prison. Don’t help me and you certainly will.”

“There are plenty of ways to get out of prison. I just wasn’t motivated at first.”

“You’ll have something to keep you busy, then.”

B narrows his own eyes.

“How long do I have to decide?”

“Not long.”

“Minutes, hours, days- ?”

“Minutes.”

“You’re lying.”

L’s own eyes narrow. “Hours, then. And not 24.”

B thinks for a moment.

“For you to even come to me at all, alone, you must be pretty desperate,” he observes. “I must be special.”

“You’re a last resort.”

“A special one, though.”

“If you like.”

“But you’re desperate,” he repeats, smiling away while L tries to stay poker faced. “I think I deserve more of a reward than restricted freedom.”

“I’ll pay you.”

He shakes his head.

“You can have an allowance for the rest of your life. A generous one.”

“Money doesn’t interest me.”

“What, then?”

B ignores this. “What’s this for, anyway? Anything in the news?”

“I can’t tell you much. But you won’t be in any danger.”

“That doesn’t bother me,” he says. “But you’ll have to trust me if you’re going to use my eyes. You might as well trust me now.”

“Yes,” L says patiently. “And you’ll have to trust me to not arrest you afterwards.”

“Hmm,” he says again. He gives L a considering look he doesn’t like. “Wammy know you’re here?”

“Yes.”

B doesn’t say anything for some time. His foot drums slightly as he thinks, as if to some inaudible tune.

“Beyond,” L says, with just a hint of impatience. “I really don’t have a lot of time.”

“I’d do it,” he muses. “For something extra to the promised freedom.”

“Which is?”

“You won’t like it.”

“What does it involve?”

“It _doesn’t_ involve hurting anyone, or anything illegal, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“So tell me.”

Beyond considers. Turns his eyes back to his.

“I want to sleep with you.”

L stares back as his insides turn to ice.  

“I don’t make those kinds of deals.”

“Prison it is, then.” He looks amused, like it is all a big joke.

“You don’t care?”

“Not particularly. I knew you’d find me sooner or later.”

L struggles to understand.

“Why would you even want to…?”

B shrugs. “Lonely, prison,” is all he says.

“Surely you can just – you can just go to a bar and- “

“I don’t want to do that,” he interrupts. “I don’t do that kind of thing.”

L has to look away. “I don’t make those kind of deals,” he repeats.

Beyond shrugs. “Up to you. I’m not bothered.”

L grits his teeth. “There’s nothing else you want?”

“Nope.”

“I was going to contact you before the Kira case,” L says. “I know you must think I’m just throwing you a line, but it’s true. I wanted to help you. I wanted to talk to you since you left Wammy’s.”

“Oh, I know it’s true,” he says. “I heard the staff talking about it. You were about to arrange a visit before the shit hit the fan. Sweet as that was, I’m not changing my offer.”

L glares at him. “You understand that this would in no way bring us closer. I would lose all respect for you.”

Beyond laughs at him. It goes right through him, jarring his nerves. “You never respected me anyway, L. And you never would have, not if we worked together for years.”

“That’s not true, I- “

“You wouldn’t.”

L changes tack, trying not to let his desperation show. “Wammy’s in danger,” he says. “You’re right. I am desperate. Please just help me because I’m asking you to.”

B looks at him almost pityingly. “That was the stupidest thing you could have told me. I only vaguely remembered the numbers. I’m sorry. I like Wammy, but he was never around much when I was a kid, so I’m not really cut up. I guess he was too busy taking you around the world.”

L stares at him, and then into space.

“And anyway,” B continues. “You can’t save people. You can’t change the numbers.”

“I have to try.”

“You can’t.”

L takes no notice.

B tilts his head at him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, with a little more warmth. “And even if I did, your Capoeira is better than mine.”

L doesn’t look at him. It’s not like he has a choice. It’s Watari. “Only once?”

“Only once.”

He thinks about it some more even so.

“I won’t hurt you. And no-one will know.”

“You’ll blackmail me with it.”

“No.”

L lifts his head to look at him. There’s an affectionate glint in Beyond’s eye.

“Do you have condoms?”

“In my room.”

L looks away again, unable to believe what he’s about to do.

“I’m in no rush at all, but you said a decision needed to be made quickly?”

* * *

 

The reality of it hits him in Beyond’s bedroom, the double bed, the curtains closed, Beyond undressing in the dark. He takes an uncertain step backwards.

“I don’t...”

“Relax.” Beyond gets in bed in his underwear. “Get undressed and get in.”

When he’s in his underwear and on the edge of the bed, Beyond’s arm snakes around his waist and pulls him in. His knees slot into the back of L’s, toes fitted together. His other arm joins around L’s waist, and he rests his face in L’s hair.

L lies there and waits. It takes a while for the penny to drop.

“ _This_ is what you meant by sleeping with you?”

B snickers. “It’s not my fault you’re dirty-minded.”

L elbows him away, struggling to sit up. He’s never wanted to punch someone so badly in his life. “You should have said what you meant.”

B turns onto his back and puts his hands behind his head. “I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. I do have some condoms, somewhere, if you’d prefer to do it your way. You still have to sleep here, though.”

“Fuck you.”

Beyond starts cackling with laughter, and L almost bites through his lip in fighting the urge to kill him, to pick up the lamp and brain him with it until he shuts up.

“Sorry.” B attempts to smother his laughter. He puts a hand on L’s arm placatingly. “Come on. Lie down.”

L steels his jaw. He lies down.

Beyond immediately wraps round him again. “Good boy.”

L remains stiff in his arms.

“Was this really what you wanted all along? Or did you change your mind?”

“All along,” B says, nuzzling him. “I couldn’t have sex with someone who didn’t want to.”

“This isn’t far off.”

“It’s far enough.”

“Would you have told me what you actually meant if I’d said no?”

“No.”

L thinks about it. “I don’t understand.”

“I told you. Lonely. This is the only chance I’ll ever have of being close to you.”

L absorbs this in silence. It still doesn’t make any sense. He vows to stay awake all night.

“I’m not going to kill you,” Beyond says sleepily, as if reading his mind.

L takes no notice. He is not falling asleep.  

* * *

Beyond is gone when he awakes. He snaps upright in bed, cursing himself for being so stupid, when Beyond waltzes into the room, a cup of coffee in one hand and one of L’s files in the other.

“Be careful with that,” L snaps, before Beyond can open his mouth.

“My, someone is cranky this morning,” B chides, placing the coffee beside him. “And you had such a good night sleep as well.”

L ignores him as his face flames. He takes out the content of the folder, finds B has already written neat dates and times on each mugshot.

“It’s those, isn’t it,” B says unnecessarily. “Let me know if there are any more.”

L stares at the numbers, his brain ticking. A pattern slowly starts to emerge.

“That coffee’s for you, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

It takes him a moment to realise Beyond is still staring at him.

“Thank you,” he says again. “If these are all correct – they’re all set within the next 24 hours – I’ll be in touch with someone to arrange what we discussed.”

“And in the meantime?”

L shifts uncomfortably.

“Please stay in the house. It’s under surveillance.”

“Is it now.” His eyes shine.

“Not all of it, obviously.” L instantly kicks himself. He doesn’t understand why he can’t keep his composure around Beyond. He’s worked with far more frightening individuals who have had little to no effect on him.

“So, I can do whatever I like in this bedroom?” B smiles as if he expects L to share the joke.

“Don’t test me, B,” L says. “You can try something if you like, but you’ll only be hurting your own freedom in the long run.”

“Wammy’s still going to die,” he says unexpectedly. “I better not be penalised for that.”

“You won’t be.” He puts the photos away as his hands start to shake. “I have to go. I have work to do.”

B looks disappointed.

“So that’s it? You’ll just palm me off and I’ll never see you again?”

“We didn’t agree otherwise.”

“Maybe I should have fucked you, seeing as you were so up for it. It may have made you a little more compassionate.”

L goes very still. He can feel B watching him, wanting to get a reaction out of him.

“I’m going now,” he repeats steadily.

Beyond steps in front of the door to block it. “What if you need my help again?” 

L looks at him with a hint of impatience.

He continues, “If this goes well, you could use me again, when you’re desperate. I could be useful. I don’t have any demands other than spending time with you.”

“No,” L says.

“Perhaps you’ll reconsider if a serious threat comes up.”

“Perhaps,” L says icily. “Nothing in mind at the moment.”

“L,” he says, a little desperately. “I know I’ve done it all wrong, but I can help you. I really can. If we work together, maybe we could change people's numbers."

L’s eyes turn pitying.

“Let me out, Beyond. I’ll be in touch if I need you.”

B lets him out.

He stands there looking at the bed when he's gone, L's untouched coffee turning cold on the table, and wonders if it would have made a difference if he’d told L what was left of his own numbers. He thinks it probably wouldn’t.


End file.
